Trump: EU allowing Canada to become associate member could be ‘hostile act’

President Trump said Wednesday the European Union (EU) inviting Canada to join as an associate member could amount to a “hostile act,” threatening tariffs or a trade embargo against the bloc.

“If they do that, if I think it’s at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina, while stumping for GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley on the campaign trail.

The president called the idea of Canada joining the EU “laughable,” and blasted the U.S.’s northern neighbor as a “terrible trade partner” amid his tariff war with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“If it’s a good intention, that’s fine,” Trump noted. “If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday she wants Canada to join the EU as its first-ever associate member.

“I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union,” von der Leyen remarked at her annual State of the Union address in France , with Carney in attendance.

During remarks to the European Parliament on Thursday, Carney called for “deep cooperation” between his country and the EU on issues such as critical minerals, defense industrial capacity and artificial intelligence.

“Deepening and widening our relationship will strengthen our sovereignty, improve affordability, opportunity, and security for our citizens, while safeguarding our ability to live our lives as we choose,” the prime minister said.

Carney later remarked, “We do not seek power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law.”

Trump and Carney have exchanged tariffs on goods imported between the two countries in recent weeks, with Ottawa matching the U.S. president’s 50 percent levies on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian goods.

The standoff will impact U.S. industries, such as steel and aluminum, and has thrown a wrench into the relationship with America’s second-largest trading partner.

Carney did not name Trump in his Thursday address, but he said earlier this month that he is ushering in a new era for Canada — one which is not defined by “dependence” on the U.S.

“The past 40 years has been a period of deeper economic integration with the United States. Truth is, it was easy business, but it meant we relied too much on one economic partner,” he said in a video his office posted to YouTube. “It’s clear that time is over.”